August 30, 2009

MOLECULE REVEALED

Atoms within a single molecule were pictured for the first time by a team at IMB.They used a metal needle only 1 atom wide at the tip and put a single carbon-monoxide at the tip of that. They then traced a molecule of pentacene and measured the forces between the atoms.The experiment was performed at -268 C in high vacuum. The picture that resulted easily shows the structure of the molecule.